Commerce Commission to investigate supermarkets

Relevant offers

A Commerce Commission investigation into supermarkets appears to be only looking into the activities of Countdown.

Today in Parliament Commerce Minister Craig Foss announced that after a week of inquiries, the competition regulator was formally investigating, in what appeared to be a wide ranging probe.

"I can confirm that the Commerce Commission has launched a formal investigation into the supermarket sector of New Zealand."

But the Commerce Commission has now confirmed that the investigation only relates to Australian-owned Woolworths.

"The Commerce Commission has confirmed it is formally investigating the allegations of anti-competitive behavior towards suppliers by Countdown," the regulator said in a statement.

"The investigation will involve seeking a wide range of information from a variety of sources, including organisations from all areas of the supermarket sector. The investigation is expected to take a number of months."